EIB to go ahead with €1.5bn loan for TAP pipeline

Disregarding heavy pressure from environmental groups, the European Investment Bank (EIB) approved 1.5 billion euros of financing for the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which will carry Caspian Sea gas from the Turkish-Greek border to southern Italy, bne IntelliNews reports. TAP is part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which is intended to connect different infrastructure transporting gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz II field. The project has also received backing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which announced in December it was providing a 500 million euro loan to Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG, the constructor, owner and operator of TAP.